Coach Speak? We'll see if Hue Jackson makes
good on his promise to feed Isaiah Crowell in 2017.

Grab a Helmet

Isaiah
Crowell v. PIT: I’ve been leery of silly season promises
ever since Buffalo coaches promised they’d feed C.J. Spiller “until
he throws up” way back in 2013. I spent a quarter of my auction
budget on the once-promising Bill, he puked all over my lineup
the rest of that season, and I learned a valuable but tough lesson:
Coaches lie. Hue Jackson et al. could be fooling me twice about
ramping up Crowell’s usage in 2017, but I’m inclined to believe
there’s more substance to this bit of coach-speak. Crowell was
way underutilized in 2016 for a guy who averaged 4.8 yards/carry
(just 198 carries) and is built to withstand a much larger workload
than the slighter Spiller. He’s also playing with a very green
quarterback who can’t carry a work-in-progress Browns offense
and behind an offensive line that probably can. I don’t own him
but wish I did.

Bilal
Powell @ BUF: The Jets will clearly be trusting the
process in 2017, as evidenced by the off-season departure of several
headliners (Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Darrelle Revis, David
Harris, and Sheldon Richardson) and that farce of a quarterback
“competition,” which essentially involved former Brown Josh McCown
running wind sprints while Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty
commanded the majority of preseason snaps. McCown, unsurprisingly,
ends up under center for the opener, and though he doesn’t excite
anyone, Powell’s owners should be encouraged. The Jets are going
to get repeatedly drilled (I’m calling 0-16 right now) and the
potential for garbage time production is high. That’s especially
true for a talented asset who can contribute as a runner and receiver
playing with an experienced, albeit flawed, veteran QB. A “no
Jets” policy in 2017 is understandable, but I think this guy is
worth playing most weeks, starting in Week 1.

Christian
McCaffrey @ SF: This guy better be worth starting EVERY
week because I’ve gobbled him up in all of my drafts and had to
pay handsomely to do so (think 2nd round or equivalent auction
value). I don’t play in non-PPR leagues, to be fair, and he certainly
holds more value in that format based on how we presume the Panthers
will use him. Still, he’s a dynamic athlete/matchup nightmare
capable of racking up yards in several ways and is a threat to
score on almost any play. Last I checked, touchdowns count for
six in ALL formats. The Panthers allegedly have a McCaffrey-specific
play package and I’m excited to see them deploy it this Sunday
down in the Bay Area. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Niners
will be trying to defend it, a team that yielded almost 28 points/game
to opposing running backs in 2016 (worst overall).

Grab a Gatorade

Mike
Gillislee v. KC (Thu): Most coaches lie (see above),
but the best resort to outright obfuscation when it could lead
to any sort of competitive advantage. Bill Belichick is probably
the best one of all and has mastered this sphinxlike relationship
with the media. Here’s what he had to say about Gillislee, his
presumed starting RB, after Week 3 of the preseason: “We were
able to get Mike a few carries and a few plays in the game. I
think he still has quite a ways to go. He has missed some practices
this fall and missed some practices last spring.” In other words,
we got a fact-opinion-fact sandwich that managed to tell us NOTHING
about how the Pats intend to use Gillislee when the games start
counting for real. You probably didn’t have to overspend, so consider
taking the wait-and-see approach with any/all New England runners
this week.

Marshawn
Lynch @ TEN: Few draftees have polarized fantasy GMs
more than Beast Mode heading into this season. Some think the
year off and the move back home to Oakland will recharge his batteries
and, by association, his fantasy fortunes. Others think he’s on
the wrong side of 30 with too many miles on the tires and, accordingly,
way too risky for his ADP (2.12). I’m probably somewhere in between.
The situation in Oakland is definitely ideal for him (great offense
with an especially solid front five) and he could definitely put
together a terrific comeback campaign. On the other hand, he spent
almost two years away from the game just L-I-V-I-N. It seems plausible
the Raiders will want to ease him back into the groove a bit,
so be careful. I think a healthy dose of skepticism is prudent
early on, especially against a tough Titans front in Nashville.

Paul
Perkins @ DAL: The Giants are intending to go RB-by-committee
again in 2017, which makes them not at all unusual these days.
Here’s the problem as I see it: They’re intending
to use the exact same backs they employed this approach with last
year. Care to guess how many times a New York runner logged 20
carries in a game last season? It was just once and Perkins took
the honors (Week 17 at Washington). Though he rushed for over
100 yards, he didn’t score and only managed a modest 10.2
points. In fact, the former UCLA Bruin is still looking for his
first NFL six-pointer. I doubt he gets it on Sunday night against
a Dallas defense that was one of the best against opposing running
backs in 2016 (15.3 points/contest). Don’t be fooled by
the RB1 label. None of the G-Men backs are worth starting until
further notice.